"There were too many questions," council member Lillian Woodbury said.

For weeks, questions of process and propriety surrounded the race for three city council seats after a slate of write-in candidates made a strong showing at the polls in the Admiralty Island village, 60 miles west of Juneau.

"This is good for Angoon," said Maxine Thompson, former mayor and city council candidate.

Angoon's municipal code required that the council certify the election by noon Oct. 8. The council failed to get a quorum of four members to begin the certification process until Tuesday.

The election was then contested because of electioneering accusations. As a result the council called for a new election.

"It was a pretty heated meeting," Woodbury said.

Earlier in the month, Thompson joined two other declared candidates, Dan Johnson Jr. and Pauline Jim, in sending a letter to the state director of elections seeking help with the uncertified election.

The trio claimed that the election process was corrupted when sample ballots appeared at polling sites with write-in candidates included. An additional letter alleged that write-in candidate Lenora Walker, joined by a supporter, stood outside a polling place speaking to voters and escorting them to the door.

"The election has indeed been affected by the illegal campaigning that occurred," the letter said.